


The Jumper

by LazyOtaku13



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Police, My First Fanfic, Rating May Change, sorry if it's bad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-16
Updated: 2015-08-19
Packaged: 2018-04-15 03:09:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 9
Words: 7,080
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4590756
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LazyOtaku13/pseuds/LazyOtaku13
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Police Detective Levi Ackerman gets called into work early on a Saturday morning, and no one even thinks to bring him coffee. Ridiculous. On top of that, he has to figure out why some bright-eyed brat ended up splattered on a sidewalk. What a case this'll be.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Like a Bug on a Windshield

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is my first fic! That being said, I'd really appreciate it if you readers could give me feedback! I'm always looking for ways to improve my work.
> 
> On another note, I got this crazy idea to write this crazy fic at this crazy hour of like 3am. So enjoy!

It was not the first time Eren had awoken screaming his head off. It was also not the first time Armin and Mikasa scrambled into cramped bedroom, cooing and sushing him back to sleep. But tonight was the first night that neither of them were home. He sobbed. The monsters in his dreams weren’t nearly as scary as the monster he was, he thought.

An idea popped into his head. A dark idea better left well alone.

* * *

 

Levi got the call at 3:19 on a dreary Saturday morning. Rain fell softly, coating his police cruiser’s windshield in a thin layer of water. The walkie-talkie scritched and scratched at his ears, but he simply ignored it, electing to continue driving than waste the energy to deal with it. He stopped for a red light and shivered. While the heat was on in the car, he felt ill thinking about what he was about to witness.

_“Ravioli! We’ve got reports of some kid who fell out of the fifth story window. Looks like a bug on a windshield apparently.”_

Hanji hadn’t been wrong in their description. Guts spilled out onto the pavement, staining them a murky red color. Levi felt bile rise up in the back of his throat. He hadn’t seen anything so disgusting since he’d thrown a pimp off of a bridge in California. He had wished that he wouldn’t see anything like it again. Much to his dismay, some brat went and ended it all by throwing himself out of his bedroom window.

Levi felt a familiar tightness in his chest when he saw just how young this brat was. Eighteen, maybe nineteen. Bright eyes, staring up at the sky in defeat.

              “Shame really.” A man said from behind him. “I heard he was an amazing artist.”

Levi huffed. “It’s always those artsy types isn’t it, Erwin?”

Erwin, the Chief of Police, gazed down at the shorter man. “Kind of rude to belittle the dead, isn’t it, Levi?”

              “They’re dead. What do they care?” Levi’s tone was acidic.

The two men watched in silence as the white chalk outline was smudged into the sidewalk. The outline didn’t even look human. Levi turned away. His job lay elsewhere.

He plodded up several sets of stairs to the brat’s apartment, only to find Hanji already there and messing about. Her partner in crime as they liked to call him, was photographing the room. Moblit groaned as Hanji continually tried to photobomb the crime scene photos.

Levi ignored the two as he stretched a pair of blue laytex gloves over his hands. He started a thorough examination of the room. The first thing he noticed was that the boy didn’t live alone. That begged the question, where were his roommates? Unaware that he’d asked the question aloud Hanji’s question startled him.

              “How do you know there were two other people?”

Levi frowned at them. “Well one pair of pants that couldn’t possibly fit Bright Eyes and one pair of women’s underwear tipped me off. And before you ask if the pants belong to the chick, they’re a different size than the ones that are clearly hers. Plus there’s extra men’s undergarments that most definitely won’t fit Bright Eyes.”

              “Bright Eyes?” Hanji cackled.

Levi glared at them and searched around the room until he found a cell phone. The screen of the Android was cracked but it was still usable. Strangely enough, there was no password. He swiped the screen. It faded and revealed a home screen with an awkward photo of three smiling teens. Bright Eyes was on the left, a stoic Asian girl on the right, and some kid that looked like He-Man’s protégé sandwiched between the two. He tapped on the messaging icon. There weren’t that many contacts on his phone. Levi tapped the name with the red dot, indicating that it had an unread message.

 

_2:17am_

_From: Armin_

_Eren, we caught an earlier flight so we’re coming home early. Probably about 5?_

Levi glanced at the time on the upper right corner of the screen. 4:22am. Damn. He’d already been awake for over an hour and no one had brought him coffee. What a shame, he thought. He examined a few more messages, finding nothing abnormal. He instead made his way over to brat’s bedroom, nearly tripping over Hanji as he did so. They had a bad habit of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The bedroom was more than cramped. It was suffocating. Levi admitted that even he might want to throw himself out of a window if he had to live in such a small space. He even felt the strong urge to as the room was beyond messy. It was as if someone had dumped the contents of an art store onto the floor after they had stuffed the shelves with books and trinkets. He didn’t dare look out the window. God knows, maybe he’d be the second jumper. With all this clutter around him, he felt that it may have been a viable option. Cringing, he moved his way over to the desk, where a lamp had been left illuminating the sketchpad below it.

He tensed as he looked at the page. A portrait, half-finished, lay staring up at him. He was staring up at him. He called for Hanji and they giddily hopped into the room, excited as Levi rarely called upon them. They too froze as they looked at the page.

       “Do you have something you want to tell me, Ravioli?” they asked with suspicion.

Levi shook his head. He had nothing to say. He picked up the sketchbook and began to flip through pages. The two stared at drawing after drawing, only growing more horrified as they progressed through it. It was the stuff of nightmares. Gigantic people eating other people, ripped apart soldiers, desolate landscapes, big ass trees. Damn he loved to draw those big ass trees.

Eventually he’d made his way around the room, hindered by Hanji’s forthcoming curiosity. And then he was called by Erwin. The Chief of Police asked for what Levi had gleaned from inside the apartment. The kid was pretty much an open book, and of course Levi had plenty to tell his boss.

The investigation went south when a beat up Subaru screeched to a halt just outside of the yellow tape-marked crime scene. Police officers swarmed around the two figures getting out of the car, questioning them and physically holding the female driver back from ripping through the caution tape. Shit, Levi thought. Confronted with the sketchpad, he’d completely forgotten about the two roommates.

Erwin must have sensed Levi’s “Oh Shit” moment, as he raised a caterpillar of an eyebrow at the shorter man. Levi groaned, “They’re his roommates.”

 

 

 

 


	2. Still No Damn Coffee

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi hated screaming teenagers. What did he hate more? Screaming teenagers screaming at him about doing his job. And he still had yet to even smell the waft of coffee. He could really kill for some coffee.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow! I got overnight responses! I'm shocked! I'm glad that so many of you liked my first chapter, so here's another one.
> 
> Again crazy story written at a crazy hour. I have no beta, so there are bound to be mistakes. If you find one, let me know! I'd really like to fix them. Thanks!

After much convincing, the two newcomers agreed to listen before they began to freak out. Levi hated this part of death on the job the most. Talking to the families of those who have died is a difficult task, and one that requires something that he doesn’t have – people skills. It was at this point that his subordinate, Petra, stepped in. He was grateful that she was able to deal with the nuisances before they began to bother him.

 

The female driver, who he learned was Mikasa, and the He-Man protégé, apparently called Armin, were given a proper lecture on what they would have to deal with if they actually went over and looked at the body. Mikasa didn’t seem to care, but Mini He-Man, Levi couldn’t think of him as anything else, started sobbing his eyes out.

 

Despite the warnings, the two insisted to be escorted over to the splattered brat. Mini He-Man sobbed even harder, if that was even possible. Mikasa, however, simply stared at the guts smashed on the sidewalk, expressionless. She turned around, strode back over to the car, got into it, and sped off. A few officers looked like they might chase after her, but elected to deal with the dead brat first.

 

* * *

 

 

Why Levi had decided to become a police detective in the first place was something that still baffled him. He hated all of these people, he had to take a ton of orders, he saw more corpses than he’d signed up for, and there was still no damn coffee.

 

The station at six sharp in the morning was beginning to bustle with all sorts of people, but Levi didn’t have time to deal with them. It was straight to interrogation. While he didn’t think that his new case was a murder, one could never be too sure. However, every person he interrogated said pretty much the same thing. The victim, now labeled as Eren Jeager down in autopsy, was kind of a recluse and a basket case. He started fights, was always broke, ranted about imaginary people, and refused to go anywhere near really high walls.

 

By 8am on that dreary Saturday morning Levi was certain that the coffee machine must be broken. He was also certain that he was going to whack this kid he was interviewing over the head with his metal clipboard. Jean Kirstein relentlessly complained. About what? Everything. And most certainly about Bright Eyes. The two had dated, didn’t really get along, broke up, and then got into weekly fistfights in their high school’s cafeteria last year. Prime suspect numero uno.

 

The second prime suspect? The brat’s father. The asshole had vanished before anyone could convince him to come in for questioning. But those two were it. Everyone else seemed to only know of Eren Jeager and his strangeness. They were friends with him, not really close, like Mikasa and Mini He-Man, but friends nonetheless.

 

At about 8:11am Levi began to believe in God. Hanji, mad scientist they were, walked into the interrogation room, two coffees in hand. There was no one left to question, and Levi was just filling out paperwork, so they sat down across from him.

 

              “How’s it goin’ Ravioli?” they hummed. He knew what this meant. They found something when they were examining the crime scene. Damn. But he couldn’t be too bothered by this idea of new, bothersome information because he had his coffee. Glorious, hot, kind of watery coffee.

 

              “I got some unidentified DNA.” They chimed. Oh no. That was bad. He sincerely hoped that this was just a suicide, just a disturbed kid who ended it all, and not homicide.

The look on Hanji’s face told him to take the bait. He did. “Yeah?” he sighed.

 

It was as if he had dropped a plate. They shattered into bits of scientific jibberish, most of which he couldn’t understand. Finally, the slowed down and summarized in normal people English. “Basically,” they explained, “it’s very likely that he had an attacker that he tried to fend off.”

 

Levi threw his head back and groaned, loud and long. Hanji cackled at his reaction and then stood to leave. Begrudgingly, Levi followed. This was their ritual, except the coffee came much sooner. The walked into Erwin’s slightly bigger than the normal cubicle office and began to describe their findings. Of course, Hanji went first, unable to contain themselves. Levi spoke second, stating that there were two lead suspects.

 

Erwin considered their words carefully before shooing them out of his office. Hanji scampered back to their lab, leaving Levi to contemplate the case alone. At least, he wished he was alone. Eren Jeager’s phone contact list stood in the entrance of the police station, bickering and crying amongst each other. Krista Lenz, a docile looking girl with a mouth to scare the mafia, and her girlfriend, Ymir, were the making disgusting kissy faces at each other. Sasha Blaus, dubbed Potato Girl for eating boiled potatoes throughout the interrogation, and her boyfriend, Connie Springer, or the kid who looked like a walking cue ball, were loudly mocking the other couple. Horseface, or Lead Suspect #1, was complaining about the whole scenario of being stuck in the police station. Little did he know he was going to be detained for the possible murder of Mr. Eren “Bright Eyes” Jeager.

 

A few others were scattered about the overly-busy room. Mini He-Man, Mikasa, some chick with a beak whose name was probably Annie, and Hawk Beak Girl’s fanclub, which consisted of Reiner “Brawn” Braun and “Too Damn Tall” Bertholt Hoover.

 

The unfortunate part about this was that in order to get to his office he’d have to part this sea of disgusting teenagers. He didn’t have to try too hard. The brats took one look at his glare and stepped far out of his way. He almost smiled. Almost.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed chapter 2 of The Jumper! Tune in next time for chapter 3!


	3. The Secret Life of Mini He-Man

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Basically, interrogation and a creepy ass sketchpad gang up to ruin Levi's day. At least he's had one cup of coffee. Glorious, hot, kind of watery coffee.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow! I'm glad people like this work! I just want to put out there that this is not the kind of writing that I normally do. (There's usually lots more dialogue and description.) I'm sorry if this doesn't go the way you want it to, but if you have ideas or speculations about "whodunnit?!?" I'd love to hear them! (May even give me ideas to make a better ending.)

One of the best tactics that Levi had ever used was to throw all of the suspects, including the lead suspects, into a room and bait them with false information. This time, the false information was that he tripped and fell out of the window. It was a possibility, of course, but unlikely. Bright Eyes had clearly been depressed, and suicidal most likely followed suit.

 

Now what made this bait room trick successful was the ability to sit back, relax, and enjoy the show of chaos that usually unfolds. There was chaos, alright, but no one cracked. No one admitted they’d murdered him. For some reason, this really irritated Levi. He figured that he just wanted the case to be over, as he usually did, but he couldn’t help but feel as though there was something else. As if there were another side that he couldn’t see.

 

It dawned on him then that the sketchpad might hold all of the answers he was looking for. However, he was not permitted to leave the observation room until someone came to relieve him. He waited ten minutes. Then twenty. And at nearly three hours both he and the baited brats were well and done with this experiment. No new information was gleaned, and Levi needed more coffee.

 

He let the kids out of the room, watching them carefully as they filed one-by-one out into the entrance of the police station once more. None of them looked particularly suspicious. Not even horseface. But one looked unnaturally nervous. Maybe it was his personality, perhaps it was the pressure of being a subject, or maybe it was because his roommate was dead. Mini He-Man shifted from one foot to the other, and looked like he would have a heart attack when Levi called him over.

 

 “I didn’t do anything, I swear!” he squeaked.

 

Levi wracked his brain for the kid’s actual name. It sure as hell wasn’t Mini He-Man. “Armand,” he began, but the kid cut him off.

 

  “A-Armin.”

 

“Alright, Armin,” he glared at Armin for interrupting him, “what’s got you so nervous?” He liked watching them squirm, and Mini He-Man squirmed a lot.

 

He started with, “It’s nothing, Detective Levi, sir.” Levi continued to glare and very quickly the blond cracked. “Well I thought something might be wrong when he didn’t reply, and I guess I should’ve sent someone an alert. This isn’t the first time that he’s tried to…” the boy trailed off, beginning his sobbing once more. Levi wasn’t sure how to comfort him, but there were a few questions he’d left out at the earlier interrogation that he wanted to ask the kid.

 

He coughed and Mini He-Man paused his crying. “I have a few more questions for you.” Even Levi winced at his own bluntness. Armin nodded, waiting for the relentless questioning to begin. “What did you three roommates do together? What were your favorite places to hang out? Why does he have that creepy ass sketchpad?” Levi demanded.

 

He decided then that Armin must be the lovechild of He-Man and Erwin. The boy perfectly mimicked the caterpillar eyebrow lift, while still maintaining his perfect blond coconut hair. “I am Eren and Mikasa’s roommate. They let me stay with them.” He said. It didn’t really answer any of the questions but that was fine. A new question arose.

 

“Were they dating each other?” Levi demanded.

 

For the first time, he’d seen this kid look something other than nervous or mopey. With a laugh the blond replied, “No, not at all. Mikasa is Eren’s adopted sister. They live together because their dad kicked them out. Something about Eren pursuing art instead of medical science, you know?”

 

Levi didn’t exactly “know” what that meant, but he was pretty damn sure that he did. Gave “daddy” a really good motive for murder. If this was murder. He sure hoped it wasn’t.

 

“Can you answer my previous questions?”

 

Mini He-Man blushed a little in embarrassment, “Yeah. Sorry. So we usually hang out at the café on school campus, because Ymir and Krista work there. Oh, and we go to Maria Wall Community College. Go Titans?” He added the last bit, making sure that Levi understood. He did and waved his hand for the kid to continue. “Um, right, we also hang out at home. Eren likes to do a lot of art, as you can probably tell. But I don’t know what you’re talking about when you say “creepy ass sketchbook.” He didn’t draw anything other than, like, portraits and stuff. Unless you think mug shots are creepy, then I don’t know what to tell you.”

 

Deciding that he wouldn’t stand to be insulted any longer he waved the kid away. The chances of him being the killer, if there even was a killer went way down. Speaking of Bright Eyes in only present tense, the death hadn’t really sunk in for Mini He-Man yet.

 

Levi quickly made his get away from the noise. His cubicle was neat and orderly, and disgustingly small. He liked big spaces, not unlike the local park where he ate lunch. But today, going in line with how the rest of it had gone, his cubicle was no longer neat and orderly, but full of Hanji and their shenanigans. The sketchpad sat on his desk, open to the last page that had been used. Words. There were words on that page.

 

_Dear Corporal Levi,_

_Today was a terrible day. Not only did you make me clean the entire barracks, but horseface kept pissing me off. I think that writing these letters is bullshit, but Petra suggested it. In her memory, I’ll continue writing these bullshit letters as a way to keep me from ripping horseface’s throat out. Hopefully you’re happy with the cleaning job upstairs. Took me a goddamn long time and I made sure to dust the edges of the window frame just for you. Also there’s no blood on the floor. Horesface left before I could hit him._

_Sincerely,_

_Eren Jeager_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed chapter 3! I wonder how chapter 4 will pan out...


	4. Mini Chapter: Hello, Bright Eyes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's that creepy ass sketchbook again. So sketchy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mini Chapter! Wanted to elaborate on the notes from Eren, and see if you can glean a little bit from he says to his dear Corporal Levi.

Hanji tapped their foot. “Still nothing to explain, Ravioli? You had some kinky stuff going on with this kid.” They narrowed their eyes at Levi. He simply sniffed and shooed them out of his cubicle. They stuck their head around the corner and called, “And don’t you dare think about altering the evidence! It’s illegal and I’ll know about it!”

 

Hanji left before Levi could chastise them for being too loud and irritating. The page the writing was on was one page after the portrait of him, which was, although he wouldn’t admit it, on point. He flipped the page over to make sure there was no more writing. After all, Hanji would’ve said something if there were, right? Nope. Wrong. There were two more pages of letters.

 

_Dear Corporal Levi,_

_I know that losing your team is my fault. They died because of me and I won’t say otherwise, but please, please don’t you go and get killed too._

_-Eren_

There was a sketch of Levi, Petra, Hanji, and several others he recognized as Mike the Correctional Officer, Olou the Police Dispatcher, Gunther the Ballistics Tech, and Eld the Record Keeper. He ran his fingers over the drawing, lightly smudging the charcoal lines. He quickly pulled his hand back, realizing that he didn’t have gloves on. His hand that rested on the back cover of the book felt a strange paper, and he pulled off a sticky note.

 

_Don’t need this anymore! – Hanji_

 

He glared at the brightly colored square and slapped it on his desk. Much to his dismay, it stuck to his hand. He swore colorfully as at continued to remain on his skin. Finally, he set the book down, removed the too sticky-note, and threw it in the garbage. Returning to his reading, he noted that the handwriting wasn’t all that bad.

 

_Corporal Levi,_

_Things have gone south again, haven’t they? You have dragged me into the light of a hero, but without you here, I’m beginning to think this light is too damn bright. I don’t want to die – I sincerely don’t – but I no longer know what to do. Our war is over, and they have no need for me. I went from being Humanity’s Last Hope to Humanity’s Last Enemy. This is the last battle I have to face, and I’ll face it alone. Maybe, in another life, I’ll get to see you again._

_Don’t Forget Me,_

_Eren_

Levi stared at the page. It was unreal. He couldn’t process what this kid was trying to say. Was it a code? Did he know who was going to kill him? How did he know Levi?

 

There were too many questions and not enough coffee.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anyone got any ideas on "whodunnit?!?!" yet?


	5. A Broken Window Is A Pain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi loses faith and has a thirty second heart-to-heart with Hanji. Also Eren is watching from above (or below, who knows?)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow! Lots of comments! Thank you. They are much appreciated. Shorter chapter but important, the ending will be slowly revealed over the course of the next three chapters. Thanks for hanging in there with me, guys!

Levi was certain that all of the stars of misery had aligned just for him. He’d gone home the day before, really ready for sleep, only to need to do more paperwork. Sleep was okay, although he had to bang on the ceiling with his new broom to get the rowdy kids in the adjacent apartment to shut the hell up. By kids, of course, he meant teens and twenties. He knew they were probably in their late teens and early twenties because most other “kids” don’t say, “Ooh, baby! More, I want mooore!” at eleven at night while banging on the floor. Pun intended.

 

Now the next morning proved that his coffee pot needed to be replaced, the neighbor kids, yes, actual kids, needed a good lecture, and that the gangs in his area better sleep with their lights on. The first two issues were solvable easily, the third, not so much. Some mobster went all “new age justice rebellion” on his police cruiser, smashing a window and spray painting the hood with obnoxious colors.

 

The only good thing, if it could be considered good, was another note in the sketchbook.

 

_Dear Detective Levi,_

_My name is Eren Jeager. You’ve been calling me Bright Eyes, I believe? How kind of you. Just so that you know, I have some debts that need to be repaid. Like major debts. And one of them is to you. Or, the you I used to have almost as much fun with as your neighbors last night._

_Remember Me,_

_Eren Jeager_

There was a drawing of a winky emoji. Levi was almost certain that he was going to throw the goddamned book across the room. Thinking about the mess it would make, he decided against it. He dropped it in his work bag and continued getting dressed. He made breakfast, grabbed his gear, and headed off to his cruiser.

 

He got in, swinging his bag into the passenger’s seat, and sighed. In one solid motion, he smashed his head against the steering wheel, forcing the car to let out a long, loud honk. He didn’t care how many neighbors he disturbed at this point. Levi had been trying to play it cool. Don’t worry about the dead kid sending you messages through a magical book, he told himself. It’s totally normal.

 

The only thing that made him feel remotely better was Hanji saying, “Normal is a relative word. There’s no such thing as normal so there’s no such thing as weird. Everything just kind of is.” Levi had tried to explain the book problem to Hanji when he’d gotten to work, but they simply laughed in his face and tried to check his temperature. When they realized that he was completely serious, they scanned the sketchpad. Hanji looked solemnly up at Levi. “There really are new pages in this book,” they whispered. They ran, screaming, down the hall, into the elevator, and down to their lab. Five minutes later, they came back up, still screaming and shouted, “Oh my God let’s go get more sketchbooks!”

 

Levi did not want to go back to the apartment. He had plenty of work to do elsewhere. There were files to read, papers to sign, and video games to play. He had a strong liking for the one with the bird and the pipes. The name had something to do with flaps, he thought. But either way, he did not want to see the disgusting room again.

 

He’d forgotten how musty the room was. It was suffocating and musty. Kinda smelled like erasers and old paint. Hanji plucked a book off of a shelf, and a bunch of art supplies fell over as they did so, cascading onto the floor. Levi glared at them. Haji merely shrugged. Opening the sketchbook, the two found nothing out of the ordinary. Not a single note, only portraits of modern day people, a few landscapes, lots of anatomy studies. The next sketchpad was the same. And the one after that. And the one after that. It continued like this until there were no more sketchpads left. Only the one that had been so eerily illuminated upon the morning of Bright Eyes’ death held the mysterious notes.

 

That sketchpad, only about four inches by five and a half inches big, was tempting. Levi let himself give in as he checked for a new note. He wasn’t disappointed.

 

_Dear Levi,_

_Stop looking through my goddamn stuff. It’s really embarrassing._

_Sincerely,_

_Eren Jeager_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How was it? Comments and kudos are appreciated! (And comments help me improve my work for the next chapter I write.)
> 
> Also really trying not to use the F-word, just because I know it can make some people uncomfortable and I just haven't really felt the need to use it. (Saying this because I am aware that a lot of fics use it. I have nothing against it, but I like to save it for when it's really needed. Like maaaaaaybeeee chapter 7 or 8. ;) )


	6. Not Like The Movies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Apparently Levi's job is kind of lame.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully you all are still enjoying The Jumper. Originally, the title was going to be Second Chances Aren't Cheap, but then the story took an unexpected turn, so I decided to change the name. In retrospect, I'm not sure The Jumper was the best name, because, as my friend pointed out, someone may picture a piece of clothing and not a person jumping out of a window. Oh well.

 

Levi and Hanji spent the rest of the morning going through Bright Eyes’ belongings. Honestly, there wasn’t that much. Of course, he felt the need to dig even deeper, but only because the brat had asked him not to.

 

While the two didn’t find anything else involving the sketchpads, they did find out that Eren Jeager had been gifted a large sum of money a few months before his death. It could take as much as a day, but they would find out the sender’s information. This reminded Levi of something.

 

“Hanji, did we get the DNA test results back yet?” he asked them.

 

They perked up at their name, but their shoulders dropped when they heard the question. “Not yet, unfortunately. You should know by now, Levi, that it could take up to fourteen days to get back the results. It hasn’t even been two.”

 

Levi growled. He wanted this case to be over. He wanted his life to go back to normal, when Saturdays were meant for lounging around and sketchbooks didn’t have notes or freaky drawings of him.

 

The drive back to the station was fairly smooth, or as smooth as it could be. Having taken Hanji’s car, he got to sit in the passengers’ seat, seatbelt as tight as it would go and hands dug into anything solid he could find. He was given twenty minutes of reprieve. This was Erwin’s idea, as he’d had to ride with Hanji on several occasions. Levi couldn’t help himself. He took a peek at the sketchbook. He sighed when there was a new note.

 

_Dear Levi,_

_Wow. Way to be an asshole. I told you not to go through my stuff, so what do you do? Go through my goddamn stuff. And for you to drag Squad Captain Hanji into all of that, too! Now everyone is going to talk about how crazy you are, reading notes in a book from dead people._

_Regardless, I’m really pissed off right now. Don’t worry, I’m not entirely upset with you. My dad is doing his thing again. Y’know, like, being a fraud. You can arrest him for that. I’m sure he’ll blame me. But that is none of this is relevant to what I wanted to tell you in the first place._

_Actually, I had more of a question. Like, if you’re a detective, why don’t you do any of that NCIS shit? Where’re the guns? The guts? (Besides mine, of course.) The goddamn righteous glory? I mean, I don’t want to sound disappointed, but I kinda am. So disappointed. And to think NCIS has been lying to me all of these years._

_Stop Going Through My Shit,_

_Eren_

Levi slammed the book shut when a strong hand gripped his shoulder. He jerked his head up to see Erwin beaming down at him.

 

“You’ve found some great evidence Levi.” the taller man said.

 

“Tch.” Levi scoffed, “It’s my job, isn’t it?” He was never very good at taking praise. He’d rather deal with Bright Eyes’ bullshit than try to figure out how to reply to compliments.

 

Erwin sighed and ushered the shorter man along. The two walked past a few cubicles, including Eld’s. He was madly smashing keys on his computer, probably researching something. Seeing Levi’s interest Erwin explained, “We think we know who the victim’s sponsor is.”

 

This was supposed to be good news, but Levi had a feeling he wasn’t going to like it. He didn’t. The sponsor was none other than Rod Reiss, sole owner of Royal Transportation Corporation. This company was a massive part of the shipping industry, and nearly had a monopoly over it. Levi cringed. Getting that man in for questioning was going to be difficult.

 

But Erwin had, once again, thought ahead. “One of the kids that was in here yesterday was using an alias.” He began, “Krista Lenz’s given name is Historia Reiss. She’s the heir to the company, at the moment.”

 

Arriving at Erwin’s office, the two sat down in the leather seats. It was one of the few great luxuries of being Chief of Police. Erwin continued his explanation, “Seeing that the victim was friends with Ms. Reiss, that he was in great need of money, and that he knew more about her than most people on the street, I think we might have motive for murder.”

 

Levi shook his head. “She’s afraid that the public will have some scandal about her that says she’s a normal human being? I don’t think that’s it.”

 

Erwin lifted a caterpillar eyebrow. “I was going to suggest we try a line of questioning with her that doesn’t pertain directly to Eren Jeager.”

 

Well, shit, Levi thought. This case got more complicated. He also didn’t want a young lady such as Historia Reiss to go to prison. Despite her lack of social grace, she seemed nice. When the DNA test results came back, they would probably solidify her at the murderer, he mused. If that was so, what would happen to the company?

 

Even further, Levi wondered, “Bright Eyes, what did you do to get yourself murdered?”

 

Having not realized that he had spoken aloud again, he was very startled when a quaky voice behind him asked, “Um, Detective Levi? Who’s Bright Eyes?” He swung to face Petra. He cringed.

 

“Our mushy kid.” He told her. She nodded, clutching her paperwork to her chest.

 

“Well, I just wanted to tell you that while Eren’s sister may act cold to you, she’s offered to fix dinner for the station, since this is a murder and we have to stay late. She asked me to ask everyone if there was a station favorite?” her voice squeaked at the end of her question. It was pretty goddamn adorable, but he’d never admit that aloud. He hoped. With his recent record of saying thoughts aloud, he worried he’d slip.

 

“You mean besides shitty Chinese takeout?” he huffed. Petra smiled sweetly. “I dunno. Beef stroganoff or something.” He suggested.

 

Petra beamed and took her leave.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How was chapter 6? Let me know in the comments!


	7. Give Me A Sign

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The interrogation of Historia Lenz proves to be a fruitful endeavor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Howdy! I may make this fic more than eight chapters long, and I may not. I hope to try and end it with this next chapter, but can I fit everything in? Methinks not. Although, me also thinks that you guys probably don't care if this goes a chapter longer or not.
> 
> Thanks for the continued support of this new author!

It was four hours of grueling research and paperwork before Historia Reiss finally managed to get her sorry ass to the station. Making Levi wait, the station knew, was something akin to a death sentence.

 

Levi slammed his hand down on the cool metal table of the interrogation room. Historia physically flinched at the ringing noise. He slid into a seat across from her. Her lawyer, a powerful-looking man named Nile Dok, sat calmly next to her. This was not the first time the two had met. It was also not the first time that they stared daggers at each other for several minutes before commencing the questioning.

 

“Historia Reiss, do you know why you’re here?” Levi probed.

 

She nodded, “I’m a suspect. Apparently you think I’m the goddamn killer!” She looked livid. “Eren is my friend!” he voice rose, “Why would I kill him? He seemed like he was probably going to do that himself!” she huffed and folded her arms.

 

Levi looked down at his question sheet and then back to Historia. “Are you aware that you are the sole heir to the Royal Transportation Corporation?” He most certainly wasn’t prepared for her reaction.

 

“You mean he finally decided I was good enough to give me the company? I thought for sure that he would give it to Frieda.” she looked extraordinarily taken aback.

 

Levi sighed and proceeded on to another question. “Are you aware that Eren Jeager was gifted around three hundred thousand dollars from a side account of your father’s?”

 

“What? No! Why would my father give some kid he’s never met money? Maybe Frieda gave him the money, she often helps other people.”

 

“He’s never met Br-I mean, Eren Jeager?” Levi cursed himself for the stumble. Thankfully, Historia didn’t seem to notice. “And,” he added, “Frieda, as in Frieda Reiss?”

 

“Yes, Frieda Riess is my sister. And no. He’s never met any of my friends. We don’t really get along.” She paused, “Although, I knew he wouldn’t like the idea of me dating a girl, so Eren and I decided that it would be fine to tell him that the two of us were dating?” she answered as though it were a question. Clearly she felt guilty about withholding this information.

 

Levi ended the interrogation there, content with his new findings. He was also very pleased that Nile Dok knew his place, and didn’t interrupt a single time. Strange, but pleasing.

 

The day wrapped up nicely with another new note from Bright Eyes.

 

_Dear Levi,_

_Nile is kind of an ass, isn’t he? I mean, I don’t really know him at all, but he seems like a grade A ass. On another note, I noticed something today. You and that Petra chick would make a really good couple. She’s super sweet and gentle and deals really well with people. So if we go by that old adage, “Opposites Attract,” you guys are the perfect match._

_Still Kinda Pissed You Went Through My Shit,_

_Eren_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know in the comments what you thought of chapter 7 and who you think it the one "whodunnit?!?" I'm very grateful for the continued support and I hope to deliver chapter 8 to you very soon!


	8. Dear Corporal Levi,

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi has to write another goddamn report.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the end chapter! The epilogue will be coming in shortly! Thank you for all of your continued support!

It took three days to get Rod Reiss down to the station. Through a long and frustrating interrogation, as well as the results of the DNA test coming back, the truth was brought to the surface.

 

“So,” Hanji clarified, “Rod Reiss had been contacting Eren through email, but used the name of Frieda Reiss to cover up the fact that he was, you know, really freaking important.” Levi nodded for them to continue. “And then we also found out that the money from that account was embezzled from the company he owned. On top of all of this, he now has _two_ charges of manslaughter because Frieda Reiss died of a similar accord to Eren Jeager.” Hanji looked very pleased with themselves. It wasn’t often that they got to give the final report to Erwin.

 

“But you left out the best part,” Levi stated. Both of them looked to him for him to continue. “According to his story, he went to get that money back because some important sponsors were getting angry, but Eren had already spent the money on college. Outraged, Rod Reiss lunged at the boy, who scraped his arm as he tried to grip it as he fell out his open window and onto the ground below.”

 

The unfortunate part about being the last one to speak was that it became your responsibility to write up the report to send in to the superiors. While he was usually unhappy about having to spend two hours of his life writing cryptic descriptions of crime, today Levi didn’t mind it so much. After all, he had Bright Eyes to accompany him.

 

_Dear Corporal Levi,_

_How did you enjoy the case? Kind of dreary, huh? You never liked seeing people killed, and always insisted on taking their Wings of Freedom back home with you. To me, you became those wings, fighting in the stead of those who could no longer fight._

_Anyhow, do you know why I left my window open? Paint. It reeks like no tomorrow and can give you brain damage. And don’t say that I had so much of it that paint fumes wouldn’t do a thing. I’m no scarecrow._

_Well I had a reason for writing you today. I know that you’re reading this and trying to write some goddamn report at the same time, so I’ll make this as brief as possible. I wanted to tell you what you were like before you died. Or before I died, since you went after I did. Here goes._

_In the beginning, I always looked up to you. You were amazing, up on that horse, so heroic. Then I actually met you, and, well, you were a lot shorter than I expected._

_But then I was assigned to your Squad, and then they all died because of me. Hate now if you will, but at the time you still had faith in me. Right up to the very end._

_I was pretty pissed that you didn’t show up for my execution. I was really looking forward to seeing you then. Figured you’d want to show up for such a big event._

_Now fast forward until you’re a detective. Think about six months ago. Yeah. Right there. You were probably drinking coffee and eating donuts or whatever police officers do. Wait. You’re a detective. Whatever. It doesn’t matter. What does matter is that after all of that time, I recognized you. I wanted to talk to you, but I could never get up the nerve to even go near you. What if you didn’t like me anymore? What if you hated me for being a monster? Worst yet, what if you no longer remembered me?_

_I know now that it was worst case scenario. But Bright Eyes, huh? I thought I’d never hear you call me that again._

_Love,_

_Eren_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The epilogue is on its way!


	9. The Artist and His Work

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all of the support you guys have given me! It's really inspired me to continue writing!

_Epilogue_

 

Detective Levi Ackerman got a call early on a Saturday morning. The sister of Eren Jeager, Mikasa, had found something “that belongs to you.” Levi dragged himself out of bed, figuring that she was messing with him. It was probably a pen or a sticky note or something.

 

The car was freezing when he slid into the driver’s seat. The leather of his police cruiser was cool against his skin, and he shivered even harder. Rain fell gently onto the windshield, and it began to look like snow. He sighed, knowing that there was always more crime when it snowed. Why? He had no goddamn clue. Why didn’t people go out and make snowmen or something instead of drag racing down Main Street? Some things he’d never understand.

 

The door to the apartment was just as cold as his car, but his hands were frozen to the point that he couldn’t even feel how hard his knuckles rapped against the aging wood. It swung open, revealing a harried-looking Mini He-Man.

 

“Oh my God.” He breathed, “Oh God you were knocking so hard I thought someone was in trouble.” He looked at his feet.

 

Levi sighed, “Well someone is about to be in trouble if you don’t let me in your goddamn house. It’s so cold my ass is freezing off.”

 

Mini He-Man jumped out of the way, letting Levi inside. Mikasa was there, waiting. She guided him to Bright Eyes’ room, although it was an unnecessary gesture, as hi room was only a few feet from the entrance to the apartment.

 

Sitting in the middle of the bedroom was a canvas on an easel. It was covered with a beige sheet, which was covered in a spectrum of colorful paints.

 

“Take the sheet off.” Mikasa instructed.

 

Not liking to take orders, but far too curious to care, Levi carefully pulled the fabric off of the artwork. His breath caught in his chest as he examined the piece. Bright Eyes had been he artsy type alright. The work was incredible.

 

A man, unmistakably Levi, was painted, contorted on the canvas. His back faced his audience, and it was adorned with one deep blue and one white wing. Levi’s face was turned towards the onlookers, stoic and stern, yet somehow still with sympathy.

 

“He wouldn’t shut up about his dear Corporal Levi when he was painting this.” Armin informed him. “Finished it about two months before he was murdered.” Much to Levi’s surprise, the kid didn’t start bawling, but merely sniffled before excusing himself.

 

“Take it.” Mikasa said quietly.

 

“I couldn’t. You should sell it and get some rent money. I know that the embezzled money was all that you guys were living on.” He replied regretfully.

 

She shook her head. “He made it for you. It’s not mine to sell, and I think he’d be livid if I so much as thought about doing so.”

 

 

That was how Levi brought home that beautiful slice of heaven. In all of his years, he’d never seen something so beautiful. He never got tired of staring at the brushstrokes, knowing that someone who loved him dearly had spent hour upon hour deliberately placing the colors upon the canvas.

 

The painting lived in Levi’s apartment until he was shot during a case, eight years after Eren Jeager was brutally murdered. As luck would have it, he had been within sight of the stained sidewalk.

 

* * *

 

Levi heard the faint sound of someone calling him. The sun was warm on his face and he squinted his eyes as he tried to locate the source.

 

“Corporal Levi! I cleaned the barracks again! I even dusted the little ledge above all of the window frames!”

 

Levi smiled. **_Hello, Bright Eyes._**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn't stand them not being together so more death. Thank you for all of your support. I really appreciate all of your comments and kudos. Happy reading and writing!

**Author's Note:**

> How was it? Please comment! It's much appreciated!


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